GEMS

Assalamu ‘Alaykum,

I want to share with you some various gems I learnt from my Ustaadh whilst studying for my Islamic degree course. Insha’Allah for my own benefit first, and possibly for the benefit of some of you as well.

GEM ONE: Don’t do things which you can’t start with Bismillah!

I believe this to be a great test we all can and should apply before undertaking our actions. Because... Is there anyone who can say “Bismillah” and then watch “Eastenders” for 30 minutes when those same 30 minutes could have been used to walk to the masjid, pray ‘ishaa in jama’a, and walk back home? Is there anyone who can say “Bismillah”, hit the snooze button on his alarm clock and say “10 more minutes” when he/she knows that the same action led to missing the fajr prayer 3 times last week? Is there anyone who can say “Bismillah – with the name of ALLAH” and then spend £1000 for a laptop while knowing that there are many computers out there priced as low as £300 and knowing how many needy people out there could have used the £700 to buy food and clothing, pay the rent, etc...?

GEM TWO: Sleep does not give you strength!

I’ve come home from college too many times, very tired and exhausted, with tons of coursework and/or studying waiting for me to do. I’d eat dinner, pray maghrib and say “let me sleep for 2 hours, get some rest, regain some energy and then get up and study.” Well, probably needless to say, 2 out of 3 times I did not get up until the next morning except to pray ‘Ishaa. And too many times did I go to sleep after fajr fooling myself that I am doing that so that I could be well rested for the day and so that I could have more energy to do things when I come back from college. SubhanAllah, how tricky shaytaan is: “go to sleep now so that you can be strong in helping your deen during the day” and you never really gain any additional strength. This means that...Tiredness is IN OUR MIND!!!!!!!!!! So, we need to say isti’aadhah when we’re tired!!! Its only shaytaan messing with our brain. What we need to do is show him what we got and smash into pieces all his deceptive tricks, InshaAllah.

GEM THREE: Pleasure does not make you stronger!

We live in comfortable houses, sit on comfortable sofas, sleep on comfortable beds, eat beautifully tasting and plentiful food, drive expensive spacious cars (well some of us). Why? To make our life easier, to make it pleasant, to give us more energy to do things. The news is folks: Pleasure hasn’t made anyone any stronger. It is hardship that nurtures a strong individual. It is empty stomach that makes us truly appreciate Allah’s blessings although we also thank him when we fill our bellies with delicious food. I am not necessarily advocating we all start sleeping on the floor, buying £300 cars, selling our sofas etc. But the question is how much comfortable do our beds have to be, how fancy our living areas have to look, how many pairs of shoes we really must have. Does our lunch have to cost £8 when we could get by with £2 meal? And do we have to spend £1.75 for a milkshake every time we go to McDonalds, when water would quench our thirst even better and when £1.75 could feed an entire family for a day in, for example, Sudan.

GEM FOUR: Your du’aa should be preceded by good actions!

Allah says in Qur’aan (29:65): If they embark on a boat, they call on Allah, making their devotion sincerely (and exclusively) to Him; but when He has delivered them safely to (dry) land, behold, they give a share (of their worship to others)!

We seem to make du’aa only when we’re really pressed between a rock and a hard place. But our du’aas should be preceded with shows of dedication and devotion to this deen. Before going in front of Allah and asking something from Him, we ought to do some specific actions which will be a sign that we are really committed and we really mean business when it comes to establishing Allah’s deen on this Earth. So, before you ask Allah to help your financial situation, go and give a portion of what you already have showing that you really believe when you say that you put your trust in Allah. Similarly, before your 9am exam, don’t spend an hour and a half sleeping after fajr “gaining strength” and then making du’aa for Allah’s help at 8:59am on your way to the exam hall after you had just woke up at 7:50am. Spend that time reciting Qur’an and then ask for Allah’s help (after you had, of course, already studied for your exam in the days leading to the exam day).

Let me share with you guys something that happened to a Brother once (this is a true story). At the time he was a Uni student and he was also the Imam of his local Masjid. It was Friday and he had his final exam at uni but he also needed to give the jumu’ah khutbah and lead the salaat at the masjid. No doubt he wouldn’t back out of his religious duties so he decided to go to the Masjid, give the khutbah and lead the Friday prayer hoping he would still be able to make it for his exams afterwards. After he finished leading the salaat he made duaa asking Allah to aid him and he left for the Uni. As he was driving, however, there was bare traffic and he feared he would not make it. Finally he arrived but he missed more than half of the time of the exam. He sat down and started the exam with Bismillah. He finished half of the exam and realised he was running out of time and only had 5minutes to finish the rest. SubhanAllah, this part is really amazing. You know what he did? He picked a letter, for example, A (it was multiple choice) and he circled that letter for the rest of the answers and he put his trust fully in Allah. When results came in, he was really anxious and feared he failed. He opened his results and it said he got 110%!!! How was that possible, he couldn’t believe it? In class the lecturer told everyone that the examiners changed the exam this year due to a research study they were conducting. The last 30 questions or so had the same letter as the answer and they wanted to see if students would realise this. They were shocked when only one person got it and so they gave him 110% in his exam. SubhanAllah, as I was listening to this I remembered the beautiful ayah where Allah says:

"...Whoever fears Allah, He brings forth a way out for him, And provides for him (with what he needs) from where he does not even imagine. And whosoever places his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah is to accomplish His purpose. Allah has set a measure for everything." (Surah Talaq:2,3)

Allah tells us in many places in the Noble Qur'aan that "Allah is capable of doing anything that He Wills to do." Whenever He wants anything done, He merely says "Qun! Faya Qun!" (Be! And so it will be!)A great lesson is to be learned from this inshaAllah. I pray it has benefitted you as much it has benefitted me. There’s many more gems I would like to share with you guys but this will turn into a 10 page post. InshaAllah next time.

Can I sincerely ask you all to make duaa for my Ustaadh and his family. I just recieved an email from him informing me that his dad's brother passed away yesterday. Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. May Allah forgive him, have mercy on him and grant him the highest ranks in Jannah, next to our Beloved Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa salaam). Ameen Ya Rabal 'Alameen

Anything good that I may have said in this post is from Allah and Allah Alone and anything bad is from my ownself and Shaytaan. I ask Allah to forgive my shortcoming and to make me among His most dearest Servants inshaAllah.

Wassalaamu ‘Alaykum